Medical apparatus for securing a patient in the lateral decubitus position during surgery of the hip, or where a patient is required to lay sideways, are currently available. U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,550 entitled xe2x80x9cPelvic Support for Surgical Operationsxe2x80x9d describes one such support that is secured to an operating table or the like. The support includes a pair of anterior and posterior support braces for supporting a patient securely in the lateral decubitus or side position for surgeries of the hip. The anterior and posterior support braces are mounted on a support plate that allows the movement of the braces in the horizontal and vertical plane to compensate for the size and structure of the specific patient.
In surgical procedures such as hip arthroplasty and hip fracture, it is sometimes necessary to flex the hip beyond 90 degrees to check range of motion and stability of the hip joint. In a dislocation of the hip it is also necessary to flex the hip beyond 90 degrees. The unidirectional movement of the support plate described within the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,550 does not readily allow flexion of the hip beyond a limited angle of 90 degrees.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,176 entitled xe2x80x9cUniversal Lateral Positionerxe2x80x9d describes a more recent arrangement for providing a greater range of positional support for a patient during hip surgery. This positioner requires additional pads and extensions to accommodate hip surgery on obese patients
It would be desirable to utilize such a support plate for hip surgery and adapt the support plate for extended flexion of the hip when large dimensional adjustments are required.
Accordingly, one purpose of the invention is to describe a hip surgery positioner unit that allows sufficient dimensional adjustment range to accommodate patients over a wide range of physical sizes and weights without requiring additional support equipment that could provide unnecessary pressure on the patient""s lower abdomen.
A patient""s hip surgery support system includes a posterior sacral support unit, which is locked to the operating table support frame. A separate anterior pelvic support unit is then positioned over the patient and joined to the sacral support unit via a post extending from the top of the sacral support unit. The sacral support unit is in the form of a bottom plate movably adjustable on the support frame that includes a pair of vertical plates. One vertical plate serves to support the sacrum while the other plate allows positional rotation in the vertical plane at the superior iliac crest. The anterior pelvic support unit connects with the sacral connecting post via a rotatable sleeve having a downwardly extending rotary arm and a sliding extension arm. The anterior pelvic support plate connects with the rotary arm via a height adjustment sleeve for controlled adjustment in the vertical plane and with the upright post of the sacral support via a lateral compressing arm.